| Election Name: | 1947 Avon by-election |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Flag Year: | 1947 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1946 New Zealand general election |
| Previous Year: | 1946 general |
| Next Election: | 1949 New Zealand general election |
| Next Year: | 1949 general |
| Seats For Election: | Avon |
| Turnout: | 13,035 (84.43%) |
| Candidate1: | John Mathison |
| Party1: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| Popular Vote1: | 8,513 |
| Percentage1: | 65.31 |
| Swing1: | −3.33 |
| Candidate2: | Robert Alexander McDowell |
| Party2: | New Zealand National Party |
| Popular Vote2: | 4,422 |
| Percentage2: | 33.92 |
| Swing2: | +2.56 |
| Member | |
| Before Election: | Dan Sullivan |
| Before Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
| After Election: | John Mathison |
| After Party: | New Zealand Labour Party |
The 1947 Avon by-election was a by-election held during the 28th New Zealand Parliament in the Christchurch electorate of Avon. The by-election occurred following the death of MP Dan Sullivan and was won by John Mathison.
Dan Sullivan, who was first elected to represent Avon for the Labour Party in 1919, died on 8 April 1947.[1] This triggered the Avon by-election, which occurred on 28 May 1947.[2]
Two other expected candidates, Jack Roberts and Alan Sharp, declined nomination. Roberts, president of both the North Canterbury Labour Representation Committee and Canterbury Trades Council of the Federation of Labour, committed himself to union activities while Sharp (who was Labour's candidate for in 1946) wished to run in Selwyn again at the next general election. With Roberts' declination Mathison was seen as the frontrunner for the nomination.[4] Mathison was subsequently selected as Labour's nominee.[5]
The Communist Party decided not to put forward a candidate. The party's Christchurch secretary, Jack Locke, stated his party had no wish to embarrass the Government (whose policies they mostly supported) by drawing away votes.[10]
The following table gives the election results:
Mathison obtained 65.31% of the votes and was successful.